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Collin County, Texas
Collin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 United States Census, the county's population was 782,341. Its seat is McKinney. Collin County is part of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. A small portion of the city of Dallas is located in the county. Other important cities in the county include Allen, Frisco, McKinney, Murphy, Plano, Richardson and Wylie. Name and history Both the county and the county seat were named after Collin McKinney (1766-1861), one of the five men who drafted the Texas Declaration of Independence and the oldest of the 59 men who signed it. Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (5.1%) is water. Lakes *Lake Lavon Major highways Adjacent counties *Grayson County (north) *Fannin County (northeast) *Hunt County (east) *Rockwall County (southeast) *Dallas County (south) *Denton County (west) Demographics 2012 Estimate }} As of the census of 2000, there were 491,675 people, 181,970 households, and 132,292 families residing in the county. The population density was 580 people per square mile (224/km²). There were 194,892 housing units at an average density of 230 per square mile (89/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 81.39% White, 4.79% Black or African American, 0.47% Native American, 6.92% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 4.26% from other races, and 2.11% from two or more races. 10.27% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. According to U.S. Census figures released in 2006, the racial makeup of the county was as follows: 77.21% White, 7.26% African American, 10.02% Asian, 0.45% Native American, 5.06% of other or mixed race. 12.8% Hispanic of any race. There were 181,970 households out of which 40.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.10% were married couples living together, 7.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.30% were non-families. 22.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.18. In the county, the population was spread out with 28.70% under the age of 18, 7.40% from 18 to 24, 37.90% from 25 to 44, 20.70% from 45 to 64, and 5.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 99.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.80 males. The median income for a household in the county was $70,835, and the median income for a family was $81,856 (these figures had risen to $77,671 and $91,881 respectively as of a 2007 estimate).Collin County, Texas - Fact Sheet - American FactFinder. Retrieved on 2009-05-21. Males had a median income of $57,392 versus $36,604 for females. The per capita income for the county was $33,345. About 3.30% of families and 4.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.10% of those under age 18 and 7.10% of those age 65 or over. Based on median household income, as of 2006, Collin County is the second richest county in Texas after Fort Bend, and is considered one of the wealthiest counties in the United States. However, Collin - like other Texas counties - has one of the nation's highest property tax rates. In 2007, it was #21 for property taxes as percentage of the homes value on owner occupied housing.http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/1888.html Taxfoundation.org It also ranked ranked in the Top 100 for amount of property taxes paid and for percentage of taxes of income. Part of this is due to the Robin Hood plan school financing system in Texas.http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F04E5DB173BF934A35753C1A9629C8B63 Query.nytimes.com Government Collin County is a Republican stronghold in presidential and congressional elections. The last Democrat to win the county was Lyndon Johnson in 1964. As the northern Dallas suburbs spilled into Collin County in the late 1960s and early 1970s its politics immediately swung to the Republican Party. In the House of Representatives, the southwestern part of Collin County is represented in Texas's 3rd congressional district and the rest of the county is represented in the Texas's 4th congressional district. Both districts are held by Republicans, the 3rd by Sam Johnson, and the 4th by Ralph Hall, who only recently switched to the Republican Party. Education The following school districts lie entirely within Collin County: *Allen Independent School District *Anna Independent School District *Farmersville Independent School District *Lovejoy Independent School District *McKinney Independent School District *Melissa Independent School District *Plano Independent School District *Princeton Independent School District *Wylie Independent School District The following districts lie partly within the county: *Bland Independent School District (very small part only) *Blue Ridge Independent School District *Celina Independent School District *Community Independent School District *Frisco Independent School District *Leonard Independent School District (very small part only) *Prosper Independent School District *Royse City Independent School District *Trenton Independent School District (very small part only) *Van Alstyne Independent School District (very small part only) *Whitewright Independent School District (very small part only) Colleges and universities Collin College Collin College website opened its first campus on Highway 380 in McKinney in January 1986. The college has grown to seven campuses/locations--two in McKinney and two in Plano and as well as Frisco, Allen and Rockwall. Dallas Baptist University DBU website also has an extension site in Frisco, DBU Frisco. Parks Collin County Parks and Open Spaces *Bratonia Park *Myers Park *Parkhill Prairie *Sister Grove Park *Trinity Trail Communities † City extends into one adjacent county. †† City extends into two or more adjacent counties. Notable people *The Texas rancher and gunfighter King Fisher was born in Collin County in 1854. See also *List of museums in North Texas *National Register of Historic Places listings in Collin County, Texas References External links *Collin County government's website *1846 Plat of Buckner the first county seat of Collin County, from the Collin County Historical Society, hosted by the Portal to Texas History *Life in Collin County *[http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcc16 Collin County in Handbook of Texas Online] at the University of Texas *Collin Chronicles hosted by the Portal to Texas History *Texas State Election History * Category:Counties of Texas Category:Collin County, Texas Category:1846 establishments in the United States Category:Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex